News and Events

About the Historical Society

On Exhibit

Judge William B. Bryant was appointed to the U.S. District Court by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. He had been one of the most prominent criminal defense attorneys in Washington, D.C., and he became one of its most respected federal judges. A student of the Constitution throughout his life, Judge Bryant was known for his compassion and fairness.

Welcome!

The D.C. Circuit was created in 1801 and consists of the two federal courts for the District of Columbia: the U.S. District Court
(a federal trial court) and the U.S. Court of Appeals. Although the Circuit is responsible for the smallest geographic area of any of the
thirteen federal circuits - its jurisdiction extends only to Washington D.C. - it historically has had an outsized influence on the law as
a frequent forum for litigation involving federal government agencies. The Historical Society brings the Circuit's rich legacy to life
through a variety of activities including articles and oral histories, reenactments, displays and publications, archival preservation, and mock
arguments involving area high school students.

The Historical Society began its work in 1990 by commissioning Professor Jeffrey Brandon Morris to write a definitive history of the first 200
years of the D.C. Circuit Courts, Calmly to Poise the Scales of Justice: A History of the Courts of the District of Columbia Circuit. The printed book
is available on request, but most of the Society's archival material is online at this Web site. This includes
a fascinating and expanding collection of oral histories from noted judges and practitioners. In addition, the Web site
houses the Society's burgeoning collection of articles on the Circuit's history contributed by
scholars and lawyers.

What's New

Read about Judge William Bryant's Early Years - An Interesting Addition to his Oral History
The oral history of Judge William Bryant, long available on the Society's website, has recently been enhanced by the addition of
two interviews with Judge Bryant about his family and early years and his descriptions of Washington in the 1920s and 1930s.
These interviews were not available at the time the oral history was first published.

In the Historical Society's July newsletter, you can read Chief Judge Garland's remarks
about the Historical Society and its 25th anniversary, read tributes to Judges Oberdorfer and Jackson, discover what
a Washington lawyer learned from the students he helped prepare for their Mock Court arguments, check out the Society's
social media platforms, and more.

JUN

29

Lloyd N. Cutler
Board member Stuart Taylor has contributed to the Society's website the eulogy he wrote upon Lloyd Cutler's passing in 2005.
It begins: "There will never be another superlawyer on the scale of Lloyd Cutler.... This is not to deny the possibility that
someone, somewhere may replicate the dazzling array of talents that made Cutler the pre-eminent lawyer-statesman of his generation:
intellectual brilliance, wisdom, public-spiritedness, eloquence, genius for grasping the interests of everyone around the table, and
passion for forging consensus solutions to hard problems. But even if more such people walk among us, the political and legal
environments that enabled Cutler to be Cutler no longer exist." Read the eulogy in full
and read Lloyd Cutler's oral history.

JUN

22

Twitter and Facebook
The Historical Society is posting on Twitter and Facebook vignettes from the oral histories it has taken.
Our first post: "Joseph L. Rauh Jr. recalls the battle for civil rights positions at '64 Democratic Convention."
Follow us on Twitter @CircuitHistory and visit our Facebook page.

JUN

17

End of an Era
Regarded as a high water mark of laissez faire capitalism, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1922 nullified a D.C. minimum wage law guaranteeing women hotel and hospital workers at least 34-and-a-half cents an hour or $16.50 a week. Read more...

JUN

1

Did you know that before the Civil War, the Marshal for the District of Columbia was unsalaried but earned large fees by
selling food to prisoners and by engaging in other more heinous acts? See Scandalous Fees

MAY

12

The Historical Society is now able to process online applications for new individual and law firm memberships as well as for membership renewals. To join or renew your membership, visit our membership page.